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Gastown, Vancouver — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Gastown is Vancouver's original townsite, built around Maple Tree Square where the city began. Its spine is cobbled Water Street. Restored brick warehouses line the blocks between Burrard Inlet and the edge of Downtown Vancouver, holding restaurants, design shops, and small hotels. The quarter presses against Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside, and it grew from a waterfront saloon opened in 1867.
About Gastown
Where to stay in Gastown
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Staying in Gastown suits travellers who want to be within walking distance of the harbour, the restored warehouses along Water Street, and the bars that fill the district after dark. Beds are limited here. The stock leans to boutique hotels and heritage conversions rather than large chains, so rooms book up early.
Chinatown, the Vancouver Police Museum, and the Downtown Eastside sit within a few blocks, while the Vancouver Lookout at Harbour Centre marks the western edge. Nights run late near the pubs, so light sleepers may prefer the quieter stretch toward Alexander Street. For a wider choice of rooms, the rest of Downtown Vancouver lies immediately west.
About Gastown
What are the main landmarks in Gastown?
The district's own set piece is Maple Tree Square, the cobbled junction where Gastown began. West along Hastings Street, the Vancouver Lookout rises above Harbour Centre with a viewing deck over Burrard Inlet. East on Cordova Street, the Vancouver Police Museum and St. James Anglican Church mark the edge of the Downtown Eastside.
Cross Carrall Street into Chinatown, where the Chinese Canadian Museum and the Chinatown Storytelling Centre trace the history of Vancouver's Chinatown community. Most sit within a ten-minute walk.
What is the history of Gastown?
Gastown began in 1867, when the saloon-keeper John Deighton opened a bar on the south shore of Burrard Inlet to serve workers at the nearby Hastings Mill. The settlement took his nickname, Gassy Jack. Renamed Granville in 1870, the site became the core of the City of Vancouver when the city incorporated in 1886.
A fire levelled the wooden town that same year, and it rose again in brick and stone, which is why the warehouses along Water Street share one heavy Victorian look. After decades of decline, the district was protected as a provincial historic area in 1971.
Where is Gastown?
Gastown occupies a narrow wedge between Burrard Inlet to the north and West Hastings Street to the south, at the northeast corner of Downtown Vancouver. Water Street curves along the old shoreline, meeting Carrall Street at Maple Tree Square, the five-point junction that anchors the district. Cordova and Powell Streets run parallel a block inland, and Carrall Street forms the seam with Chinatown just beyond.
To the east lies the Downtown Eastside.
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Updated July 2026